What is the most surreal moment you've experienced in cricket?

Facing Anderson Cummins when playing against the West Indies, turning around after watching a bouncer go past my nose and David Williams, their keeper, is taking it one handed, high above his head. and he is outside the 30 meters circle.

Walking out onto Mosman oval, for my maiden 1st grade game at 18,playing with and against guys I respected so much.( realising I’m a long way from Condobolin)😂

Playing a game for the SCGXI at the Hindu Gymkhana cricket ground in Mumbai. Stifling heat and humidity, not a blade of grass on the outfield, a literal dust bowl where we had to bury our heads in our shirts every 10 minutes as dust squalls blew through the ground. The kids were 10 deep along the boundary and I was running along it high-fiving them. Finished covered in red dust. Greatest cricket game ever coming down to the last ball.

Growing up in Armidale Northern NSW in the 1970s and like most young cricketers, my cricket heroes were Ian and Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee.

In January 1980 when I was 12 on a family holiday in Sydney, dad and I went to the SCG to watch our first day night game Australia v England sitting in the old wooden Sheridan Stand.

Australia batted first and and then under lights Lillee got 4 for 12 with the crowd going crazy with the famous chant Lillee, Lillee, Lillee.

It was an incredible experience. I loved it.

12 or so years later Lillee was doing one of his fast bowling clinics for young NSW fast bowlers at the SCG.

As a keeper batter I was invited to help out and after a hit in the nets we ventured out for a centre wicket session and I did some keeping. I also had another opportunity for a hit.

After a couple of minutes batting, I was surprised and a tad excited to see Lillee (who was probably 43/44 years of age) grab the ball to bowl.

Here I was facing up to Dennis Lillee bowling from the same end he was back in 1980 when the crowd was going beserk chanting his name.

Golden Oldies in Barbados 2017. Participating teams lined up to have pics with WI Legends at a promotional evening at a night cricket event involving local kids. Our crew hung around til all had finished but during it, Lady Sobers had become ill. One of our girls with a nursing background helped suet get out and a car took her. Sir G and other legends later spent about an hour and a half with we nobodies, chatting about golf, life, a bit of cricket. Beyond belief ti have had time with them. Our ‘girl in Barbados’, Dareece (cousin of Gordon Greenidge), arranged dinner from a food market as they hadn’t been fed. We told them not to fuss about knives & forks and ho in to the spicey chicken finger food. I had my phone out for more pics and Sir G noticed. “Hey marn. No pics of me using fingers. Lady Sobers would not approve!” Lots of laughter and such a joy. 👍

1. Facing Richard "Barry" Stobo circa 1982 in my first game of 1st XI school cricket and realising that tall fast bowlers are actually trying to knock your head off every other ball and it might be worth developing a backfoot game!
2. Playing Blackjack with AB, Peter Who and the late great Deano in a hotel/casino in Antigua in 1991 after the 5th Test (which Australia had won, Mark Waugh and Tubby Taylor scoring great centuries)

1982 picking up my Nsw jacket from Fletcher Jones in Sydney city , riding the bus back to Coogee dying to try it on .
It was a great moment and I thought of my dad who passed a few months before I got selected and coming from a small country town it was for them as much as for me .

Being selected in the NSW squad for two season through a great era of cricket was great. But actually telling my parents will be a memory I will never forget as they were my biggest fans.

As a team the greatest feeling I had was playing on the SCG with my club winning the SCG Cup. Not having the best game personally but still enjoyed the day seeing my mates on this great ground.

Hitting a six into the bottom deck of the Members Stand in the annual "journos" v "politicians" one day match at the SCG many years ago. Admittedly, the bowling was rubbish and it was a long hop, but I still cleared the fence and hit the seats.

Meeting half the England Cricket team in the Middlesex dressing room at Lords in 1989, during a rain delay in their match with Yorkshire. Names: Mike Gatting, John Emburey, Phil Edmonds, Paul Downton, Norman Cowans, Roland Butcher, Angus Fraser and an up and comer Mark Ramprakash (ended up scoring over 100 1st class 100s, he was only 18 at the time)

Sitting in the stand at Newlands watching the big screen and trying to work out what Bancroft was doing.

I too was at Newlands, the next day spoke with the young camera operator at fine leg who laughed that every day all operators urged each other “catch the Aussies”. 30 odd cameras in play, so how come none of the touring party knew they were under surveillance for things other than batting and bowling?

Playing in a final in Armidale 1960’s, our Capt. was late getting to the match on the 2nd day being Sunday. Had church duties. I was vice captain and we were batting. The opposing Captain approached me to ask if we could supply a temporary fieldsman as they were one short. I agreed to go out.(Silly me!!!). One of our best batsmen was on 34 not out. I went to square leg. During the 1st over our batsmen pulled a short ball towards me and I automatically dived to me left with hand outstretched. The ball flew into it and stuck. Great catch however, !!!!!!!!!! I honestly can’t remember the result of the game but it tore our team apart. Lucky it was the end of the season.
Not my happiest memory of my cricket career. Peter.

Facing former Aussie quick Geoff Lawson in 1998/99. (he was 41) Tried to fire him up saying he used to look faster on the telly

A grade game in the bush. We were in all sorts of trouble defending a score. The other team was one wicket down and cruising to victory. One of our players was called to the boundary by his wife and informed his father had died. He left, and our skipper called us together and said: 'Let's do this for so-and-so'. The opposition proceeded to lose 9 wickets for next to nothing and we won by a whisker.

Bowling to Rashid Latif in the nets at Chingford Cricket Club. After he finished batting, he joined me to bowl at the next batsman. He bowled right arm swing then after a while decided to copy my action and bowl left arm orthodox spin. Perfect loop, turn and accuracy.
Not bad for a keeper.

Playing Reschs Cup for Tamworth as an 18 year old, batting with Mark Waugh, being asked to sign hundreds of autographs for kids because I was fielding at deep mid wicket and he was at square leg and getting a mouthful from Gavin Robertson for not holding the catch after saving a Shane Lee missile off his bowling from going for six by diving on the cycle track at No1 Oval

I recall playing a first grade match in the early 90s against a star studded Bankstown line-up. Mark and Steve Waugh used to do a bit of bowling back then in ODIs and I remember facing Steve Waugh at the time. As he was running in I was thinking that you only ever see the camera angle from the back when watching the Aussies play on TV and now I got a chance to see them bowl from head on. Luckily the first one passed by harmlessly outside off stump because I certainly wasn't watching the ball very closely.

Scoring my maiden First Grade Century at Manuka Oval against a very good Queanbeyan side that included players like John Bull and the great Neil Bulger. I remember being on 98 and slashing at one, getting a thick edge and looking back to see it going wide of the slips for 4. It was as if a giant weight was lifted from my shoulders. No more expectation.

Batting aginst Mosman 1973, Mosman Oval green top, with Barry Knight and David Colley peppering me with bouncers. No helmet, no chest or arm guard, just a trusty Slazenger Polyarmour bat. Captain Mark Hope a the other end just telling me to watch the ball......which I did as they fizzed past my ears. Long way from Wade Park, Orange for the young country boy. Treasured memories.

I was 19 & working my way through the grades & into 1st Grade at Northern District when returning from a tour to Pakistan with the Australian U/19’s I was selected in the NSW Shield Squad to start training in the July. After playing against the likes of Salim Malik & Rameez Raja at stadiums in Karachi & Lahore of Pakistan & then a few months later to be included in the NSW Squad to start training with people like Doug Walters, Len Pascoe, Ian Davis, Peter Toohey & the like cricketers I’d watched on TV growing up & admired & now I’m rubbing shoulders with them it was something I’ll never forget a far cry from my Junior Cricket days a few years earlier as a skinny kid playing for Gosford on the Central Coast.

Have several but this one sticks with me after all these years.
I had come back from Melbourne where I had moved for work and went to a Middle Harbour “Pigs” baseball game and caught up with Allan and Jane Border. After the game I went back to their Cremorne apartment where they lived prior to moving to Brisbane which was imminent.
Jane sent Allan and me out onto the balcony and we talked about what a great future Allan had in cricket by moving to Brisbane. Allan loved baseball and was pushing me on focusing harder on baseball as I had now finished University.
Allan had great support from Jane, his family and close friends including the Hiscox family in moving to Brisbane.
I moved to the USA for 27 years for my job missing a lot of the great cricket achievements of Allan. Also he and Jane raising a wonderful family. So the recent Kayo review on Allan was great including him walking from his parents home across what is now Allan Border Oval.

Many examples of surreal experiences connected to cricket the most recent of which was witnessing three run out dismissals in a University First Team game all off no balls. However a highlight for me was on the evening after my wife and I got married in Barbados meeting Garfield Sobers who was having a drink in the restaurant we were eating in…

Late 1970s playing 4th grade for Balmain away against Randwick and we've lost the toss on a hot day.
Our captain Barry Cusack is about to lead us onto the field and he turned to vice captain Peter Martin telling him to go and change his white floppy hat to a club cap or not to wear anything on his head.
Now I don't recall seeing Pete wear any other headgear in the years that I played with him, so this all seemed really odd.
The stand off continued with neither backing down, finally Barry told him that it was take the hat off of don't walk onto the field.
It was a long day in the field with 10 players.
The story got a run in the Sydney Sun newspaper on the Tuesday afternoon, and Pete's trademark terry towelling hat was to my recollection never challenged again.